Sony's campaign to sell us on the PlayStation 4 begins.

It's true, the games are ultimately what we are most concerned with when we talk about a games console. But when they are first announced, it's the systems themselves that are often the most fascinating topics. This is perhaps truer than ever before in the case of the PlayStation 4, what with the industry changing so dramatically and the current generation of systems having lasted for as long as it has. Going into today's event, I was of the belief that Sony needed to present a convincing reason for why it chose to make the decisions it would unveil and, more importantly, why it is that gamers should care about investing hundreds of dollars in a new system. At least part of Sony's answer to the latter question revolved around making the PS4 a much more social platform than other consoles, though whether that's a satisfactory justification remains to be seen.

The picture of the system's new controller that has been circulating around the web for the past week did prove to be real. The DualShock 4 uses Bluetooth and is largely the same as its predecessor, save for some tweaks (like merging the Start and Select buttons into one, and the introduction of new, concave analog sticks, which are unfortunately not offset, Xbox-style) and a few new features: a headphone jack, a Share button, a touchpad, and a light bar. The touchpad, which I figured would have received some attention during the event, was all but ignored; I had hoped to see some reason for its inclusion. Perhaps it's better that the games we saw didn't include it, as it's the sort of input that should only be used when it makes sense to do so, not simply because it's there.

The light bar was described as being a way to identify players and can be used to convey information, like your health being low. It works in conjunction with a Kinect-like camera that can sense the depth the controller is held at. It, too, was something we thankfully did not see shoehorned into games it has no place in. It was undeniably strange for these two major new forms of input to be paid no attention for the length of the event, although I'm sure those who have little interest in seeing them used are breathing a sigh of relief for the time being.

It was actually the Share button, a seemingly insubstantial addition, that was touted most heavily, and with good reason. With it, you can easily share either a screenshot or a clip of gameplay with other players. Alternatively, live gameplay can be streamed so that other players can watch, leaving you comments and even taking over control, if you allow them. (Sony said this could be handy, for instance, if you need help getting through a particularly difficult part of a game.) Sharing and streaming are the kinds of things taken for granted on PCs, but they're new concepts on consoles for anyone who doesn't have a capture card their system is hooked up to. The ability to stream to platforms other than PS4 -- including Vitas, PCs through Ustream, and iOS/Android devices through the new, cleverly titled PlayStation App -- makes this functionality all the more useful. I imagine this will all prove to be very popular for a segment of gamers that will also be pleased to hear how community-oriented it sounds like the PS4 is. The system will plug into existing social networks, and though anonymity will still be possible, real names will now be used extensively. Perhaps that's one solution to cutting down on the much-maligned immaturity that can be found in online games.

Just as the Share button reduces the barriers to sharing play experiences with others, the power button no longer functions like as much of an impediment as it once did. Similar to a handheld system, the console is capable of suspending gameplay when you turn the system off. Then, when you power the system back up, you'll be able to instantly jump right back to where you were without dealing with the long startup times of current-gen consoles. Simple as this is, it's a feature I'm particularly happy to hear is in place, as the needless waiting to start playing console games is a pet peeve of mine. I was, however, disappointed to not hear anything about an ability to suspend gameplay and jump between games, but maybe that was asking for too much.

On a similar note, digital games are also becoming a lot more accessible. Rather than having to wait through the download and installation process before being able to play, the PS4 will be capable of playing games after only a portion is downloaded; the remainder of the game is then downloaded in the background. That removes a major hurdle for downloadable games, and it could prove to be even more useful -- provided developer choose to provide support for the feature -- as the file sizes of next-gen games increase.

Seeking out games in the first place may be less of a hassle than ever before on PS4, as Sony says the system will learn what sort of games you're interested in and bring information on them to you. It may even download content to the system in anticipation of you being interested in playing it. While it's easy to imagine things going awry, either because its assumptions are wrong or because of ISP bandwidth caps, this will no doubt be optional. If it were to work, coming home to find a new game you're interested in has downloaded itself sure would be cool.

What could make sampling games even quicker than that is Gaikai. The first consequences of the cloud gaming company's acquisition by Sony last year were finally revealed tonight, as co-founder David Perry talked about creating the "fastest gaming network in the world." By navigating your way through the console's Metro UI-like dashboard to a game's page, you'll be able to immediately try it out without downloading it. It's a natural, but no less brilliant, application of Gaikai's streaming technology. That's not all it will be used for, however, as the hope is to eventually allow for PS3 (as well as PS1, PS2, and PS Mobile) games to be playable not just on PS4, but on any device.

Comments (21)

Not sure the PS4 will be removing barriers

Good analysis. But with pay to play service and no backwards compatibility it seems like Sony is going to make it difficult to play whatever you want as opposed to whatever they offer you at the price they set. I think that's a big difference. Business-wise it makes sense. They are offsetting this by allowing us to take an instant screenshot and send it to our friends on facebook. Like most people have hinted on these comments, and maybe I'm just getting old, but social aspects don't interest me as much as playing games. One thing is for sure, Sony will have to be very competitive in it's pricing for hardware and services.

true

But then again xbox new system is going to do the same thing. There trying to kill gamestop. If you notice though every big game that comes out recently on the ps3 also has a digital download version in the psn store. If people know theres no backwards capability then start buying it on the psn store, and then just transfer it to ur ps4. thats what ive been doing with all my new games. i think digital download will be better. People cant get mad when sony tells you way in adavance no backwards cabability and u keep buying hard copies thats ur own fault.

As of now

PSN games will not work on PS4. I imagine they will have to rectify this. I'm not sure what the implication will be for PS+ accounts because those games only exist as long as you have an account and will Sony even keep that service running if they are phasing out the PS3? Hold onto your PS3 and wait and see. Hopefully we'll get more deatials soon. I don't have many PSN games, but I don't want to lose them and more importantly I will not rebuy them if Sony thinks they can pull that.

I want a powerhouse not a facebook machine.

I don't give a damn about social networking or recording some boring vid of me playing a video game.

I Want A Powerhouse.

Whoever makes the most powerful gaming focused console this generation is going to get my money. I don't care about gimmicks like touch screens, social networking, or motion control. Give me an old school controller and some powerful hardware and I'll be happy.

Everyone stfu in was just anounced

lmao give it some time.. This presentation i believe was to purely show there gonna support there powerhouse system with power house games. unlike the ps3 witch was a powerful system but barely any developers took advantage of that. the ps3 release was sad with the games that came out at launch. i think there saying thats not gonna happen again.

Can ps4 have spell-check?

For back cataloging

Any word on how this will work? For example as the system is not BC will I have to purchase my old games again or can I input a serial number or something tying that game to my profile? I absolutely hate the idea of re-purchasing games again and again and again and again with each new console. The technology is there and viable to be able to do this and was just wondering if any light has been shed besides "you can stream old games"

Well...

...hopefully you won't have to re-buy (at the very least the PSN games), but I have a feeling they're going to make you rebuy, which kinda sucks. I'll probably be keeping my PS3 until this is cleared up.

Not BC

Sony already confirmed that your PS3 discs and PSN purchases will not transfer over to PS4. We have to hope that this streaming service they have will recognize games you own, but can't see how that is possible. PS3 and probably 360 are the first consoles I will keep connected even after I get the next gen systems.

Why not possible?

At least with PSN purchases (games you downloaded over PSN), they have a concrete identifier to your purchase. So (abstractly), their new servers check old (current) PSN for whether you downloaded a game (and this could apply to full-fledged PSN games like Crash Commando, PS1 Classics like Silent Hill, or PS2 Classics like Twisted Metal Black), and let you stream for free if you have already bought the game.

With disc games, of course, it could be harder (used game, not used game, etc).

PS4=modern PCs

I showed the specs to some of my hardcore PC gamer friends and they pretty much said, "Yeah, that's a nice a gaming rig with a sony logo on it." Sure, you can spec out a PCs that surpasses the PS4, but not without spending more than the PS4 is probably gonna cost. IMO, I doubt Sony is gonna price the console over $500.

Social about gaming

The 'social' features they showed were pretty germane to gaming. It wasn't like, "Hey, now you can poke your Facebook friends on PS4". Rather, you can do things like upload gameplay videos and get a friend to show you through a part of a game you can't figure out, or spectating a friend's game.

But you would expect

them to show SOME example of the touchscreen and light bar at work, right? I'm with you on not forcing it into every game, but I would think that at least one game would use one of them to some degree, at least enough to show it off a bit.